ETHS EdTech Blog

This week, we have added to our bank of technology tutorials for Students by going through some of the ins-and-outs of managing Gmail. These tutorials are designed for students, however, anyone who uses Gmail could benefit from them!  In these videos, you'll learn about drafting and replying to emails (including the difference between Cc and Bcc), organizing your inbox, Check out these tutorials below, or visit our  Technology Tutorial Webpage for Students and Guardians  to access the videos and other resources.  Creating, Sending and Replying to an Email Organizing your Inbox Gmail Settings

Got email? We know you do. So, how do you manage it all and stay on top of teaching during remote learning? Is it possible to achieve Inbox Zero during a pandemic? The answer may be yes, but it will require some additional strategies. Personally, I believe in the concept of keeping my inbox tidy. It helps me make sure that I have responded to people who took the time to write me. I get into a routine of responding and acting on emails in a timely manner. And I am less likely to overlook or miss something when I know that I am caught up with messages. So, how does it happen? Here are a few suggestions that I have benefited from in my quest to keep my email counter set at zero.  If You Don't See It, Is It Still There?  If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, with emails, you can have them still come to you, but you don't have to hear your phone notification or see them in your Inbox. By creating rules, you can filter your email ...

Thanks to everyone who attended our virtual Tech on the Terrace last week to learn all about the newest features in Google Meet, including Breakout Rooms ! If you missed it or just want a refresher, checkout our Google Slide deck here , which includes a short demo video of each of the newest features, which are: Show yourself in grid Host controls Tile Layout - 49 person Jamboard interactive whiteboard Noise cancellation Blur background (for some) Breakout Rooms Polls Q & A Attendance reports Stay tuned for Tech on the Terrace in November!

Okay, so when I had just finished this long post, Google Meet Breakout Rooms suddenly appeared in my Google Meet. So I deleted everything and decided it was a bust. That's even after I put together a whole deck with steps, tips, a helpful video, and some sample templates to get you started .  However, what if you want a bit more control of your Breakout Rooms like pre-assigning students in certain Meets so you don't have to waste time in class? Or what if you want students to choose their own Meet groups based on topics or needs? Or what if your school doesn't have an Enterprise account and won't get access to Breakout rooms at all? To help with those scenarios, I decided to write this post anyway. Check out the link to my deck above for steps to get started creating your own Mini Meets, and be creative with how you use them! Have a great idea for using this hack? Post it in the comments so we can learn from you.

With Enhanced E-Learning in full swing, chances are you've made a screencast at least once (or many, many times). It's a great way to teach topics asynchronously and provide quick feedback to students about their work. But have you ever considered having students submit screencasts of their own? In many cases, you probably have. And in some you've probably done it. The problem is, the logistics can be a lot to manage. Teach the kids to use Screencastify, make sure they share the link correctly, have them post it somewhere in Classroom, etc. Well this process just got easier with Screencastify Submit! Think Flipgrid but for screencasts (and webcam recordings) that save directly in your Google Drive. Better yet, all ETHS teachers have access to this premium tool already! Read below for more information on how to use it, and begin making student thinking visible quickly and easily with Screencastify Submit. Or, jump right in and check out my demo assignment ! When you're d...

Conferences are just around the corner and this year, we’re online. Conference online sign-up has closed and you can  refer to PowerPTC for your final schedule . Here are some things to consider before, during, and after your virtual conference.  Before the Conference There are a few steps you can take prior to conferences to ensure they run smoothly. First, think about your setup. Locate an area with good lighting , sitting with the light toward your face instead of behind you. Try to find an area with natural light, or use a lamp to slightly illuminate your face. Take your surroundings and background into consideration to eliminate distraction, and consider using a pair of headphones and a mic if your space tends to be noisy. Lastly, take advantage of extensions to improve your conference workflow. Two extensions that we suggest are Dualless  to easily split your screen, and Ultra Timer to keep track of the 5 minute conference limit.  After 3:00 on Sept 30th, you ...

Let me start by saying today is Thursday, September 17, 2020. This is the kind of post that will be outdated almost immediately because Google Meet is coming out with new features as we speak.  In the meantime, here are five Meet extensions that are useful for teachers (and their students) at this very specific moment in time where many teachers are looking to switch from Zoom to Meet in an attempt to avoid Zoombombing or for ease of integration with Google Classroom. 1. Google Meet Grid View (fix) If you're coming to Meet from Zoom, you're likely used to seeing many students on screen at one time. The most you can do in Meet right now is 16, but 49 is just on the horizon (actually it came out for our rapid release schools while I was writing this post). In the meantime, if you can't access the 49 tile view just yet, use this extension to help you see all the students at once. Likewise, if students want to see all their classmates, recommend that they add it as well (and th...